an English writing master and engraver. He is best known for his engraving work in The Universal Penman, a collection of writing exemplars which helped to popularise the English Round Hand script in the 18th century. In 1712, Bickham wrote copy books and business texts as there was a strong link between writing and mathematics (arithmetic and bookkeeping) instruction in the mid 17th century to early 18th century. Bickham, the Elder, collected from 25 London writing masters in 1733 to create and engrave the penmanship samples forming the Universal Penman, which was reported to be the most important and popular of copy texts used by writing masters to instruct their pupils.
